LiftUp COVID-19 Updates - Thank you for your interest in helping neighbors in need. Please check back for further updates and ways you can help!

June 5, 2020

The LiftUp of Routt County Thrift Store is reopening June 15th with modified hours:

Monday 1-2 PM is senior hour (60+) with regular shopping from 2-6 PM.

Tuesday through Thursday open 1-6 PM.

We ask visitors to follow these guidelines for a safe shopping experience:

Mask will be required, hand sanitizer and gloves available.

Social distancing of 6 feet requested and there will be a limit of 14 shoppers allowed at a time.

LiftUp will supply bags, they are not required, but do ask shoppers to leave reusable bags at home.

Children must stay with a parent/guardian and children age 2 and over will need to wear a mask.

No returns will be allowed at this time.

Bins for tried-on items will be at the fitting rooms and items will be held for 3 days before returning to the racks.

For more information call 970-871-9327.

Update June 5, 2020

Clients under age 60, please call 970-875-3442 and leave a delivery message. All other instructions remain the same.

May 24, 2020

LiftUp will continue delivering food boxes through the month of June. Monthly food boxes help protect staff, clients and volunteers by allowing residents to stay home as much as possible while receiving the food they need.

TO REGISTER FOR DELIVERY:

Clients age 60+ years should call 970-879-0633, extension 3 and leave a message.

Clients under age 60, please call 970-879-5605 extension 12 and leave a message.

Clients are instructed to "leave a message with your name, physical address, phone number, email address if you have one, and the number of people in your family. Please repeat your phone number. You will receive a return call confirming your delivery. The food bank cannot take requests at this time. You will receive a box of food to supplement your monthly amount of food. Drivers will leave the food outside of your home."

WHAT LIFTUP IS DOING:

The LiftUp food bank team will assemble the needed boxes and quantities. Deliveries will be picked up by volunteer drivers at LiftUp.

THE DELIVERY SCHEDULE IS:

Tuesdays - Steamboat

Wednesdays - Hayden

Thursdays - South Routt

Fridays - North Routt & Steamboat

The goal is to continue all food distribution to the delivery model. LiftUp will still accommodate transient walk-ups and limited drive-through pick-ups.

May 7, 2020

LiftUp of Routt County is grateful for the outpouring of support and desire to donate to our Donation Center. With the recent safer at home orders, LiftUp will begin accepting donated items on Fridays from 10 AM to 5 PM beginning May 15th. Please note there will be a limit of 6 bags (NO BOXES) per day per household. LiftUp personnel will be onsite to direct donors and ensure that all mitigation protocols are observed to keep staff, volunteers and donors safe. All donations will be quarantined for a minimum of 5 days before processing in our Donation Center. We cannot accept glass, dinnerware or other breakable items at this time (along with otheritems we normally do not accept).View the full list of items we cannot accept. The LiftUp Thrift Store remains closed to shoppers, but we are hopeful we'll be able to announce a limited opening soon.

April 20, 2020

Earlier this spring we announced the generous pledge from Deer Park Road to donate $50,000 a month for four months to help LiftUp meet the need for rent and mortgage assistance during the COVID-19 crisis. During normal operations, clients are limited to $2,000 of housing support per year and only in two of the last three years. When the COVID-19 pandemic began re-shaping our community, LiftUp suspended the two out of three years requirement to offer more neighbors the chance to qualify. Thanks to Deer Park Road, and individual donations, qualifying clients are now eligible for up to $3,000 each of housing assistance through May 31, 2020. A client can apply more than once for rent or mortgage assistance through May 31st (not to exceed $3,000 in total assistance). For more information please email casemanager@liftuprc.org for assistance.

April 3, 2020

Starting Tuesday, April 7, 2020, LiftUp is shifting to offering monthly food boxes to clients rather than weekly boxes to help protect staff, clients and volunteers by allowing residents to stay home as much as possible while receiving the food they need.

The Routt County Council on Aging (RCCOA) and Routt County United Way (RCUW) are helping to coordinate a delivery service to residents. RCCOA and RCUW will log delivery calls and then coordinate with LiftUp as we'll be assembling the boxes for pick-up.

TO REGISTER FOR DELIVERY:

Clients age 60+ years should call 970-879-0633, extension 3 and leave a message.

Clients under age 60, please call 970-879-5605 extension 12 and leave a message.

Clients are instructed to "leave a message with your name, physical address, phone number, email address if you have one, and the number of people in your family. Please repeat your phone number. You will receive a return call confirming your delivery. The food bank cannot take requests at this time. You will receive a box of food to supplement your monthly amount of food. Drivers will leave the food outside of your home."

WHAT LIFTUP IS DOING:

The LiftUp food bank team will assemble the needed boxes and quantities Deliveries will be picked up by volunteer drivers at LiftUp.

THE DELIVERY SCHEDULE IS:

Tuesdays - Steamboat

Wednesdays - Hayden

Thursdays - South Routt

Fridays - North Routt & Steamboat

The goal is to move all food distribution to this delivery model. LiftUp will continue to encourage residents to sign up for delivery, but will still accommodate transient walk-ups and limited drive-through pick-ups.

March 31, 2020

We want to ensure our spanish speaking clients can easily and quickly learn, understand and act on pertinent information regarding COVID-19. Please help us spread the word on this new Facebook page to assist families and individuals: https://www.facebook.com/yampavalleylatinxnetwork/

March 26, 2020

Our Food Banks continue to operate regular hours for drive up or walk up food assistance. Food is being box distributed for individuals & families. For more info call 970-870-8804.

March 24, 2020

ARE YOU STEAMBOAT STRONG? We are partnering up with Steamboat Hat Shop and Summit Apparel Solutions to raise much-needed funds for our food banks and assistance programs due to extended closures of both the donation center & thrift store. The profits from this apparel will be donated to help the growing number of neighbors in need! Purchase, wear with pride and help us help others! CLICK TO SHOP NOW!

March 19, 2020

For individuals and families seeking financial assistance please contact our Case Manager's at 970-875-3443 or send an email to communitysupport@liftuprc.org. Due to limited resources, we also encourage those in need to reach out to the Department of Human Services at 970-879-1540 or visit Colorado Peak's website (an online service for Coloradoans to screen and apply for medical, food, cash and early childhood assistance programs.

March 18, 2020

The following information was released by the Steamboat Springs School District (SSSD) regarding lunch and breakfast options:
SSSD will be providing a free “brown bag” lunch and next day breakfast starting Wednesday March 18th and will continue, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, until further notice. All students are welcome to participate. Please look for a school district white bus. The schedule is as follows:

Distribution Sites #1 West
From 11:00 to 11:20 Anchor Way Church parking lot
From 11:25 to 11:45 Heritage Park
From 11:50 to 12:10 Sleepy Bear
From 12:15 to 12:35 White Haven

Distribution Sites #2 West/Central
From 11:00 to 11:20 Dream Island
From 11:25 to 11:45 The Reserves
From 11:50 to 12:10 West Acres Mobile Home Park
From 11:00 to 12:00 Steamboat High School Athletic entrance

Distribution Sites #3 Mountain
From 11:00 to 11:20 Shadow Run
From 11:25 to 11:45 Mountain Village
From 11:50 to 12:10 Fish Creek Mobile Home Park

March 17, 2020

Please review the following guidelines and appropriate contact information if you are interested in volunteering your time!

LIFTUP IS SEEKING VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE NEEDED NOW OR IN THE FUTURE WHO ARE:

Healthy, exhibiting no symptoms of COVID-19 or any other illness

Are willing to maintain confidentiality and a caring and generous attitude toward customers

If you are a regular LiftUp Volunteer who meets all of the criteria above, please contact your supervisor directly or the Volunteer Coordinator via EMAIL or by calling 970-875-3447.

If you are not a current LiftUp volunteer but want to volunteer specifically for LiftUp please contact the Volunteer Coordinator via EMAIL with your name, contact information, general availability and any special skills you feel would be helpful. You will be asked to complete a Volunteer Application.

If you would like to help immediately anywhere in the community please visit the Routt County United Way VOLUNTEER PAGE or call Chelsea McLean at 970-879-5605.

A NOTE REGARDING PHYSICAL DONATIONS:

The LiftUp Thrift Store is closed until March 29, 2020 and household donations are not being accepted. When we resume accepting these donations additional volunteers may be needed in both the Donation Center and Thrift Store.

Food Bank donations are being accepted under specific criteria and the Food Banks are open with modified procedures for pick-up. Please call 970-875-3441 for specific Food Bank questions.

March 15, 2020

Due to the closure of the Thrift Store, we are anticipating a loss of $24,000 in revenue to support our Food Banks, Assistance Programs and Operations. We are hoping monetary donations will help alleviate this loss. Online donations also help minimize visitors and foot traffic (to staff and clients only) and allow our staff to purchase the items needed most for food boxes and food distribution. We are able to make each dollar go further with our nonprofit buying power and purchasing partnerships. You can make a donation now: https://www.coloradogives.org/LiftUpRouttCounty/overview

March 14, 2020

After careful deliberation we have decided to close our Donation Center and Thrift Store from March 16 to March 29, 2020. Our primary goal continues to be serving our neighbors in need, while keeping our staff, volunteers and clients safe. We will keep the Food Banks and Community Support operations open during that time. We are adapting each day to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 virus and may announce further closures or changes to how we'll be assisting our community on a daily basis.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support so that we can ensure all neighbors receive the help they need. If you can make a gift now it will allow us to keep our shelves stocked, make and distribute food boxes and get healthy, nutritious snacks to children.

March 13, 2020

LiftUp of Routt County is responding to COVID-19 by doing what we do best - helping our neighbors in need with nutritional food and utility and housing assistance. As COVID-19 continues to affect communities acrossthe state, we will continue our mission right here in Routt County. As the only local food banks for the general public, we are committed to serving those facing food insecurity, but we will need your help now more than ever before.

Can you make a gift now? We are collaborating with local government, school districts and other organizations as we know the need will increase, especially if businesses and schools face unexpected closures.

HOW ARE WE PREPARING?

Like you, LiftUp is taking precautions to prevent the spread of illness and to focus on safety for our clients, staff and volunteers. We are staying in touch with local authorities and others to monitor updated safety protocols and this rapidly changing situation, and are practicing all of the hygiene practices as instructed by the CDC and Routt County.

If you are in need of emergency financial assistance, we encourage you to call our Case Workers at 970-870-8804, and work with them to submit the needed paperwork via email, rather than coming to our Food Bank locations.

If you are feeling ill or showing any symptoms, we will ask that you not enter our doors at this time.

If you are a client in need of food, and you feel ill or are showing any symptoms of illness,we welcome you to use another, healthy person to shop for you, or, if you cannot use another person, we will put together a box of food for you to pick up outside of our Food Bank doors. Please call us at 970-870-8804 and let us know that you will need a form to assign another person to shop for you (called a “Proxy Form”), or to let us know that you need to have a food box put together for you and we will arrange a pickup time. If you are feeling ill or showing any symptoms, we will ask that you not enter our doors at this time. If you are not already a client and are in need of food assistance, please call us at 970-870-8804 to see if you qualify.

If your child is a Rocket Pack recipientand you would like to pick up your child’s Rocket Pack at our Food Bank in the event of a school closure, please call us at 970-870-8804 and ask for Kristal to make arrangements.

THE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE WILL INCREASE.

We are presuming there will be an increase in the number of people that may need food, utility and housing assistance. Making a donation is the most efficient way to help and will allow us to continue to serve those in need, and those that find themselves facing uncertainty during this time.